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Author
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Topic: Filmguard first time user question
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Matt McBride
Film Handler
Posts: 62
From: Starkville, MS USA
Registered: Oct 2012
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posted March 27, 2013 10:00 AM
For the best results, it's good to use a Kelmar/Christie film cleaner or something of that nature. Now of course depending on what gauge you are using those may not be an option at the moment. Those cleaners were designed to use 35mm/70mm gauges, however you can modify those to fit 8mm/16mm gauges as well. I believe awhile back, before I was on this forum, somebody made a cleaner specifically for 8mm.
If you just want to use the cloth that is fine too. You need to apply enough pressure so that the FilmGuard is actually getting on the print, in other words, the print should look slightly wet. On the other hand you don't want to apply so much pressure that you are putting physical stress on the film, as that can damage it.
Even after one pass, the scratches may still be visible. It is very possible that you have to make several passes before they get filled in. Keep in mind it will take longer using a cloth than using one of the cleaner machines I mentioned earlier. As an example I had to run a print 3-4 times through my Kelmar cleaner before the scratches filled in completely. The print did look cleaner after one pass but a lot of the scratches were still there. This was a pretty bad print though.
In reality you really can't go too overboard with FilmGuard anyways. Though there will be a certain point that you apply so much to the cloth or cleaning machine, etc. that it gets almost wasted because it's not all going to the print.
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Matt McBride
Film Handler
Posts: 62
From: Starkville, MS USA
Registered: Oct 2012
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posted April 06, 2013 07:16 PM
Laksmi, don't feel afraid to clean you films with FilmGuard. Actually if you run the movie through several passes through it, especially right before hand, ie with a cleaner to get the wet gate feel, it will start to fill in the emulsion scratches as well. Now of course if the scratch is very deep it still won't hide it completely but still make it look better than if none was applied.
If you want the dirt to come back, just stop using FilmGuard or FilmRenew or other cleaning products, they will eventually evaporate off of the film. I am not sure how long, I know FilmGuard lasts for quite awhile but I never did any experiments on how long it will stay on before it evaporates, mainly because I routinely clean them with it and use it every time I run a print. That would be a question for Brad. After this point has happened, just let the film sit out in room out of its container and dust will start to build up on the film again. Keep in mind though you could be taking a huge risk in actually damaging the film further.
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Matt McBride
Film Handler
Posts: 62
From: Starkville, MS USA
Registered: Oct 2012
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posted April 08, 2013 11:05 PM
Doug is right about the cleaner not scratching the film. If you are only using cloth and hand pressure method, it is possible that a piece of dirt or whatever got caught in the rag without you knowing it and end result = scratch. As far as doing a "wet" gate method, you would have to have a cleaner, such as a Kelmar, it would have to be modified to allow 8mm film, but only the rollers, the cleaning pads can stay as 35mm sizes, or buy one from, I believe it is Roy Neil on here who use to make them specifically for 8mm.
The other option for this "wet" gate, though it won't be the most optimal, is to apply your cleaner using the rag method right before you show the film. I personally would continue to clean your prints and when you know you are going to show one, just mentally prepare to clean it in advance unless you get one of this cleaners. As far as using FilmRenew vs. FilmGuard, that is totally up to you. The big difference is that FilmRenew is just a lubricant where FilmGuard is both a lubricant and cleaner. This is why I'd pick FilmGuard myself as it cleans as lubes. I hope this helps.
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted April 08, 2013 11:36 PM
I would think what is happening here is that the scratches have
been there before Laksmi applied his cleaner. The marks he describes are emulsion scratches that are now more visible, this
is because of the cleaner highlighting the mark, if the mark had
been on the base side, no doubt it's "refractive index" would
have been changed and rendered the image of it invisible on
projection, the reverse happens when it is the film emulsion that
has been damaged, and so makes it more visible when shown.
I've no doubt that Laksmi when cleaning his prints will discover
more of them marked.To prove this, simply apply the fluid to
a "new" print, which won't have any scratches at all.
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Clinton
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... Sorry about that, Doug, and thanks to you as well for more input on the post 
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